"I acknowledge the plausibility of the scenario you described, but I am powerless to act. Before being a son and a husband, I am first and foremost a soldier loyal to Lord Boris, the Elector, and obedient to orders. The command I have received is to lead the support expedition this afternoon, and that is the only action I can take, and indeed, the only action that must be taken."
This was Avi's response to the knight commander.
Faced with such a response, Avi found himself speechless. He couldn't bring himself to condemn the knight before him, nor could he fully embrace his words. He could only turn away dejectedly and retrace his steps.
"God knows whether he's speaking the truth or uttering false lies. As long as it's clear this idiot won't help me, that's enough," Avi thought. "I'll withdraw as soon as I get back. I won't be fodder for their cannons."
However, Avi, who was initially set on withdrawing, had a change of heart upon returning to the camp.
Men, women, children, and the elderly from several surrounding villages had gathered, bringing their essential belongings. Several ox carts were lined up outside the camp, and from afar, one could see a dense crowd of people and livestock.
"Chief!" Rafe exclaimed upon recognizing Avi's horse. "You've come just in time. We can hardly hold them back anymore!"
Upon hearing Rafe refer to this rider as 'chief', the villagers immediately swarmed around Avi, clamoring about something.
Inciting the people led by Miden was easy. Their speech was loud and hearty. A group of people surrounded Avi, creating a tumultuous atmosphere that made Avi's scalp tingle.
"Everyone, please calm down, calm down!" Avi's voice amidst the crowd was more insignificant than a mosquito's hum; no one heard what he said.
Bang!
People were startled, turning towards the sound of the gunpowder explosion, only to see Airen standing on the low wall with a smoking musket in hand.
"Your Excellency, please speak," Airen said respectfully.
"Thank you," Avi breathed a sigh of relief, calming down to address the villagers. "Why have you come here? Why are you surrounding our camp?"
As soon as this question was asked, it was like a spark igniting a powder keg. The villagers began clamoring again, as if everything that had just happened was repeating itself.
After wasting seventeen lead bullets, they finally understood the cause and effect of the situation.
In short, these villagers felt they had no chance of surviving on this night of witchcraft and decided to choose their own way of death - to die in battle.
In Avi's own words: 'This is very Miden.'
"Chief, what do you think? Letting so many people settle around us, if they start fighting later, we'll be doomed!"
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"You're a Miden leader yourself, don't you understand?" Avi retorted, "The situation you mentioned could happen anywhere, except in Miden."
"Well, that makes sense. They're all glorious Miden people just like us!" Rafe dispelled doubts and shouted excitedly, "We've essentially gained an army!"
Avi wasn't as optimistic yet. He checked the combat power of these people using the panel. As expected, the highest rank among them was nothing more than militia, but the morale of these Miden people seemed higher than that of ordinary militia.
It was already three o'clock in the afternoon on the second day, and dusk was approaching soon, probably with small groups of orc scouts attempting attacks.
They didn't have time to train these farmers, so they simply briefed them on combat methods and general combat policies. Due to the large number of people, most villagers set up their temporary tents behind the camp as living quarters.
If these people could make any contribution, it would probably be quickly adding an additional layer of palisade to the camp for protection as soon as it got light.
The sun was setting rapidly.
Avi swiftly issued orders for everyone to retreat to the camp. The elderly, women, and children sought refuge in their small tents, while the able-bodied men armed themselves with farming tools or makeshift weapons, positioning themselves as a reserve force on the flanks and rear.
Earlier wounded soldiers had yet to fully recover, but their injuries weren't severe. With Manid's 'surgery' skill aiding their recovery, these soldiers retained much of their combat effectiveness and could still fulfill their duty to hold the line.
The Greatswordsmen sat within the camp, sharpening their enormous blades, eagerly anticipating the impending battle. Whether facing beastmen, chaos spawn, warhounds, or any other adversaries, they remained fearless and resolute.
Almost immediately after the sun disappeared beyond the mountain peaks, a cacophony of rustling emanated from the surrounding forest.
Initially, it started as the movements of small animals through the underbrush, gradually escalating into a collective stir, until the entire forest seemed to quiver with anticipation of the impending chaos.
"Spear walls, prepare! Archers, stand ready!" Avi harbored no illusions about the camp's fortifications withstanding the impending beastly assault. From the outset, he had directed preparations for a spear wall formation to repel the beasts' onslaught.
Halberdiers anchored the center, ensuring the line's stability, while spearmen flanked them with their weapons angled forward. Greatswordsmen intermingled among the spear ranks, honing their blades eagerly. Archers stood behind the infantry, amidst scattered piles of arrows.
Mounted scouts maintained vigilant positions, ensuring clear firing lines, their firearms poised towards the anticipated enemy approach.
First came the echoing bark of hounds.
Hundreds of chaos warhounds surged forth from the darkened forest like a flood. The daylight had restrained them for too long; now, these bloodthirsty creatures were singularly fixated on carnage and slaughter.
"Release arrows—!"
A chorus of bowstrings sang out in unison, and arrows cascaded like rain into the oncoming pack of hounds. Several beasts stumbled as arrows found their mark, yet the momentum of the pack remained unabated.
"Gunner, prepare!" Avi, wary of Airen's potential eagerness for battle, urgently called out, "There's something sizable approaching!"
As if to corroborate Avi's warning, several figures - or rather, indescribable entities - burst forth from the shadows of the forest, emitting thunderous roars.
Once human warriors devoted to chaos, these beings had undergone unfathomable transformations after receiving countless blessings from dark deities. Twisted and mutated, their forms bore little resemblance to their former selves, forever altered to embody the macabre likeness favored by their malevolent patrons.
Human heads had been utterly obliterated, replaced by writhing masses of flesh resiliently protecting the brain. Mouths now yawned grotesquely from their foreheads, with tongues adorned by bone spurs protruding from enormous cavities.
The agonizing mutations had stripped them of rationality and intelligence, driving them to an insatiable frenzy of violence and madness. They howled ceaselessly, wielding arms bristling with bone spurs in a relentless quest for slaughter, fueled by the boundless agony of their existence until their final breath.
In the annals of the old world, such abominations were branded 'chaos spawn'.